


The Way You Want Me

by DiamantNoir



Series: Powers That Be [3]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bad Pick-Up Lines, Fluff, Happy Ending, Haunted Houses, Kissing, M/M, Slice of Life, Strangers to Lovers, Superpowers, getting into a bit of trouble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24364465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamantNoir/pseuds/DiamantNoir
Summary: Yuta has a problem. He just can't keep his mouth shut.The worst part is, he's completely in love with Sicheng and can't seem to say anything but bad pick-up lines when he's right there being all gorgeous and amazing. Yuta just can't handle it.So, when they end up forced alone together (thanks to Nosy-Johnny) Yuta can only hope he can keep his words few and his embarrassment nonexistent.Of course, he's never been that lucky.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta
Series: Powers That Be [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730035
Comments: 19
Kudos: 159





	The Way You Want Me

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back with another story in the Powers That Be series. You don't need to read the other ones, but it might help you to understand the world a little more.  
> This one is a lot shorter than the other two I've posted, so I'm kind of sorry for that. BUT the next one will be fairly long. I hope you'll check it out when it's finally published!
> 
> For anyone who is interested, I'm going to put the order of the series at the very end of the stories, updating it as I go, along with the list of superpowers. This will tell you both the publication order, as well as the chronological order since the series isn't told coherently and jumps around in time.
> 
> Well....I think that's it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

It is a secret to absolutely no one that Yuta Nakamoto is in love with Sicheng Dong.

‘Subtly’ is not in Yuta’s vocabulary and it’s a little late for it to be added. And, in all honesty, he’s come to terms with it; even if most of his life is full of embarrassment.

Oh, well. There’s not much to be done about it now.

So, there he is, Friday afternoon, sitting at a table in the middle of his university library with his eyes glued on Sicheng Dong, who sits only a table over. If he knows Yuta is staring, he makes no comment or move about it. His headphones are in and his own attention is on one of his music theory textbooks.

Now, Yuta doesn’t know Sicheng personally. He only knows him through a few of his friends—Johnny and Doyoung specifically—and has only spoken to him once at a party. Okay, so ‘spoken’ is a bit of an overstatement. Sicheng introduced himself, Yuta blurted out a really bad pick-up line, and then he ran away to throw up his beer in the bushes and never spoke to Sicheng again for fear of more humiliation.

Since that moment, however, Yuta had fallen hard. It wasn’t love at first sight, but it was certainly some kind of infatuation that only got worse the more times Johnny and Doyoung mentioned Sicheng and the more Yuta saw him on campus. And, goodness, how had he not realized how often they were around each other?

Ever since Yuta laid eyes on him, he saw Sicheng everywhere. In the halls, in the cafeteria, in the library. It was incredible. And very annoying. Mostly because Yuta really wanted to talk to him, but the last thing he wanted was a repeat of their conversation at the party.

And if he couldn’t talk to Sicheng, then he’d spend the rest of his life staring at him like a creep from afar. Which is both pitiful and stalker-ish. Yuta really didn’t want to be a stalker.

Except, he can’t look away because Sicheng is really handsome and it’s very unfair to Yuta and his attention span. Sicheng straightens, running his slender fingers through his brown hair and messing it up in a way that Yuta pegs as the best look Sicheng could ever sport—and there were several—keeping his eyes on his work all the while. Yuta isn’t sure what about Sicheng that captured him at first. Maybe it’s his eyes, the slope of his nose, or the way his ears kind of stick out.

It’s definitely the ears. They’re adorable.

“You’re drooling,” a voice says in his ear.

Yuta jumps, banging his knee on the table so loud that it shocks several other students, including Sicheng, who pulls out an earbud. Ducking his head, Yuta pulls his beanie down over his eyes, and waits for the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

Johnny drops in the chair next to him with his eyebrows raised. “Jesus, dude, find your chill.”

“Don’t whisper in my ear like a creep,” Yuta bites back.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’m the one who’s the creep.”

Yuta hates that he’s right.

Straddling the chair so that his arms are crossed over the back, Johnny says, “You know, you could just talk to him? Instead of, you know, staring at him longingly. I’m sure Doyoung could introduce you again.”

He takes another peek. Sicheng has gone right back to work. Right beside him, is Doyoung with his dark hair perfect and his round glasses perched on his nose. The little geek is busy working with Sicheng on a project. They’re not in the same year, but they’re in the same music program and Doyoung promised to help Sicheng with a few of his finals. It’s times like this that Yuta wishes he had become a dance major so he could at least be in some of Sicheng’s classes. Of course, that could also just give him more time to make a fool of himself, so maybe not.

Finals, Yuta thinks. He’s going to fail all of them and then his scholarship will be revoked and he’ll be kicked off the varsity soccer team.

It’ll be a fun time.

He should be passing all his courses, but he’s spent so much time staring at Sicheng this year that his marks have slipped a bit. Okay, maybe a little more than a bit. Library time used to be useful, until he started sitting at the exact spot that gave him a perfect view of the university freshman.

Yeah, Yuta is definitely not the brightest, but at least he’s honest about it.

Fingers snap in his face and he jumps again. This time, he manages to catch himself before he can hit the table and send several things flying. He shoots Johnny a glare.

“Have you even studied? Like, at all?” Johnny asks, sifting through Yuta’s notes curiously. “How long have you been here?”

“Too long,” he admits. He snatches his notes back. “And I’ve been studying.”

“Oh, yeah? What have you learned?”

Yeah, Johnny’s got him there. Yuta sighs, resting his face in his hands. “I’m so screwed.”

“If you talked to Sicheng you could be screwed in the good way—Ow!” Johnny cradles his arm where Yuta punched him. “Shit, dude. I was kidding.”

“Not funny, Johnny,” Yuta pouts. “I can’t talk to him. I lose control of my mouth every time. He looks at me and I freeze.”

“Or a really bad pick-up line comes out.” Johnny flinches when Yuta raises his fist. “Okay, okay, kidding. Look, I’m sure Sicheng would find it really endearing.”

“You don’t know that. He could be completely uninterested.” Inhaling deeply, Yuta shakes his head. “Nah, I’ve just come to terms with the fact that I’m forever going to be a blithering idiot, I’m never going to get a date with Sicheng, and I’m going to be alone until I die with several cats and even my grave will be lonely because, with my luck, the cemetery will run out of space and they’ll need to place me in a whole new piece of land. By myself. All alone.”

“Wow, that got kind of dark. Are you taking hydros again?”

Yuta rolls his eyes. “I take hydros once for a broken leg and suddenly everyone thinks I’m on them all the time.”

“Can you blame them?”

“Not really.”

Johnny laughs. “Hey, Taeyong wanted to know if you were interested in coming over? I think he’s making pizza. I hope so, anyway. Otherwise, I’m going to throw a fit.” His phone buzzes and he checks the screen. “Oh, he is making some. Perfect. You in?”

“Might as well,” Yuta relents. “Not like I’m going to get any more studying done.”

Johnny is nice enough to help him collect his things and place them into his backpack. When he turns to leave, he catches sight of Doyoung and Sicheng. They’re both looking up from their work. Doyoung raises a hand in a half-enthusiastic wave, and Sicheng smiles, small and sweet. Yuta trips over his own feet. Johnny, the kind soul he is, catches him by the back of the jacket and keeps him upright. Yuta ends up hightailing it out of there without glancing back.

“One day, Yuta, one day,” is all Johnny says as they head to his truck. “Hey, by the way, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Watching Netflix and wishing I was never born?”

Johnny pauses at the driver’s side, casting an amused look over the hood of the truck. “Okay? Um, well, I need some help.”

Yuta climbs inside and pulls at the seat belt. “With what?”

“I have a final project in film class and one of my group members is really sick. I need someone to help me set up and possibly cover sound.”

“I’m not a film major,” Yuta reminds him. Not that he needs to. Johnny knows that well enough.

“Yeah, but you’re the only one I trust not to screw it up and who knows at least how to use a sound board and set up a tripod,” says Johnny. “So, you in?”

Well, it was either help Johnny and actually get out of his apartment or laze about, waiting for the world to end.

Yuta purses his lips. “You owe me.”

“Whatever you want, dude. Thanks.”

*

When Taeyong says he’s making pizza, he’s _making_ pizza. The ingredients are everywhere, on every stretch of counter. There’s flour on his cheekbone and in his pink hair when he greets them, all bright faced and total brilliance.

If Yuta wasn’t already completely smitten with Sicheng, he’s pretty sure he would have been crushing hard on Taeyong. Then again, he’s not sure who hasn’t at this point.

“Hey, come on in,” Taeyong says as he wipes his hands on the apron around his waist. “Yuta, pepperoni?”

“Sounds good,” he replies. He takes off his shoes and sets his bag near them. It’s a literal weight off his shoulders.

“If you’re experimenting again, can you at least warn us?” Johnny asks, moving toward the couch with his eyes on his phone.

Taeyong scoffs. “I did warn you. You just didn’t listen. I’m going to hide strawberries in yours.”

Head snapping up, Johnny says, “Don’t you dare.”

“Watch me.”

Yuta hides his smile behind his hand and moves into the kitchen to lean against the fridge. The apartment is a small, three-bedroom place, shared between Taeyong, Johnny, and Doyoung. It’s an interesting combination, to say the least, but somehow it works. It probably helps that they’re always busy with university work and hardly ever home.

In his first year, Yuta had met Johnny by sure chance. They didn’t share a major and they didn’t share any classes, but, apparently, they shared the same morning routine of getting coffee at the university café way too early in the morning for it to be normal. After that, Yuta met Doyoung and Taeyong, which was honestly kind of nice because Yuta generally sucked at making friends.

It’s that whole no-filter thing that sometimes causes issues.

Still, none of them really seem to mind it, Yuta notes. Johnny’s good at laughing things off, Doyoung barely makes a comment, and Taeyong knows exactly what he’s trying to say in the end, anyway.

“Should I ask Jungwoo to join us?” Johnny calls from the living room.

Taeyong is busy kneading dough as he replies, “No, he’s on a date night with Lucas. He’ll kill you if you interrupt them right now.”

“Noted.”

It’s really too bad because Yuta likes Jungwoo and Lucas. They’re both very entertaining and saves Yuta from opening his mouth to say something stupid because he’s too busy laughing. But perhaps it’s a good thing Lucas isn’t around. Lucas likes to keep them all late—not that they mind—and Yuta has a lot to do for his finals.

Taeyong begins moving around the room, searching under things, opening cupboards. Yuta tilts his head when Taeyong jumps to look on top of the fridge.

“What are you looking for?” Yuta asks.

Taeyong frowns, hands on his hips. His eyes are still searching the kitchen. “My rolling pin. I could have sworn I put it in the cupboard over there, but it’s not.”

Holding a hand out, Yuta feels a tingling sensation in his fingers and a wooden rolling pin shimmers into existence. He passes it over to a smiling Taeyong.

“That power,” Taeyong laughs, “is so handy.”

“Just don’t ask me to make a stove. I can’t do anything that big.”

“Doesn’t make your ability any less impressive,” says Taeyong. He starts rolling out the dough for two very big pizzas. Yuta wonders if he’s feeding an army. Then he remembers Johnny’s here. “So, it didn’t go well with Sicheng?”

Yuta looks up from the tiled flooring. There’s a small section that’s lifted up. Johnny is always tripping on it. Sighing, he says, “It never goes well, in general. I’m never going to be able to have an actual conversation with him. I both blame his incredibly good looks and my lack of brain to mouth filter.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Are you kidding me? When my roommate asked me if he should set me up on a blind date, I told him that I was lusting after a dance major with thighs I wish he would choke me with.” Taeyong winced and Yuta pointed at him firmly. “You see!”

“You just need to relax and,” Taeyong shoots him a soft smile, “think before you say something.”

“It’s the thinking part I have issues with. My mouth just wants to run without ever checking with me. How can I have an actual conversation with Sicheng if I can’t even have a normal conversation with my roommate, who, by the way, is terrified of me now and spends more time in the library than at the dorm. I think he thinks I’m going to jump him, or kill him, or maybe he’s just worried about what else I have to say.”

Taeyong opens up the can of tomato sauce, and another can of barbeque sauce—because Doyoung is weird and doesn’t like tomatoes—and grabs a large spoon. “I get what you’re saying. Out of anyone I know, your brain moves the fastest, but that’s not always a bad thing.”

It is a bad thing because Taeyong can read everyone’s minds and that means he’s read hundreds, if not thousands, and possibly millions, of thoughts in all of his life since he got his powers at age five—overachiever since the beginning—and if Yuta’s brain is the only one he’s read that goes this fast then, yeah, not exactly a compliment. It means that he’s clearly broken.

“You’re not broken,” Taeyong states, scooping out tomato sauce and covering one of the pizzas. He has strawberries out and Yuta thinks that threat to hide them in Johnny’s pizza was very much real. “You’re just unique.”

“You say that like it’s a compliment and I’m really not feeling the love.”

Pursing his lips, Taeyong turns to him and says, “Look, you just need to learn to calm down when you talk to people. That’s not a bad thing. Lots of people have issues blurting out things they don’t really want to say. You just do it a little more than the average person.”

“So, I’m not normal.”

Taeyong glares. “Yuta.”

Feeling like a kicked puppy, Yuta pouts and looks away. “Fine. Fine, I’ll try. But there’s not much I can do about it. It’s not like it’ll magically get fixed. And I can’t talk to Sicheng. That’s just social suicide. He probably already thinks I’m crazy.”

Turning back to the pizzas, Taeyong says, “You need to find that out for yourself.”

“Can’t you just tell me what he thinks of me?” Yuta whines.

Taeyong shakes his head. “I’m not telling you anything. You know my rules. I won’t even tell Johnny if he has a chance with the pretty blonde on the first floor. He’s just going to have to grow some balls and ask her out himself.”

“Which is rude!” Johnny shouts from the other room. “You just want to watch me crash and burn.”

“You do that just fine on your own without my help,” Taeyong response, easily. “Honestly, just do what you would normally do if you didn’t have a telepathic friend.”

“But we _do_ have a telepathic friend,” Yuta says at the same time Johnny asks, “Like what? Embarrass ourselves in front of our crushes over and over again until we have no more confidence and dignity?”

“You both need to find your chill,” Taeyong says. “Honestly.”

Yuta opens his mouth to reply when the front door rattles and pops open. Doyoung is back, kicking of his shoes. He whips his bag toward the living room and Yuta hears a thud and a yelp.

“Get your feet off the coffee table, ogre,” Doyoung grumbles, stalking out of sight.

Yuta snickers, but it’s cut short when he hears a soft chuckle from the door and, _holy heaven of god_ , he’s so fucked.

Standing by the door, taking off his shoes and placing them with the rest, is Sicheng Dong. He doesn’t look any different than he did about an hour ago at the library, but Yuta is still stunned into complete silence and someone please help him. He’s dying.

“Hey, Sicheng,” Taeyong greets, happily. Screw Taeyong for being so friendly and actually being able to say words while Yuta continues to flounder like a fish out of water. Seriously. Fuck him. “Make yourself at home. The pizzas will be a little while. Want a drink?”

“I’m fine, Taeyong. Thank you.”

Lord help him; even his voice is nice to listen to.

“I’m thirsty,” Yuta blurts, gaining Taeyong and Sicheng’s attention. “And guess whose body is seventy percent water?”

When he pointedly looks at Sicheng, Taeyong actually face-palms. Sicheng blinks, almost unsure of how to react and Yuta just really wants to die. Someone kill him now.

Taeyong turns to Sicheng and gestures towards the living room. “Why don’t you go sit down? We’ll be out in a minute.” Once Sicheng is out of sight, Taeyong turns on Yuta. “What the hell?”

“Sorry! I’m so sorry.” He buries his face in his hands. “I can’t even explain how sorry I am. It just came out!”

Taeyong sighs. “It’s fine. I understand. Just maybe pause before the words come out to make sure you want to say them? Maybe?”

“I try, but it’s like my mouth has a mind of its own, Tae. I don’t know what to do. I see him and my brain shuts down.”

“More like it goes into overdrive.” Taeyong presses two fingers to his temple and moves towards the half-finished pizzas.

“Why didn’t you warn me he was going to be here?” Yuta questions, eyes flicking nervously to the archway into the kitchen. The last thing he wants is Sicheng coming back for some reason.

“Doyoung didn’t tell Johnny either. Or me, for that matter. It didn’t feel right to say something when I wasn’t actually told.”

Yuta furrows his brow. “Sometimes I really hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” He moves onto the toppings and, sure enough, starts placing strawberries down in a small section. Yuta vows not to eat that. “Look, you can hide in here and never speak to Sicheng and possibly make it seem like you hate him. Or, you can go out and at least try to talk to him?”

“I’m going to mess this up.”

“Probably.”

“Your insurmountable faith in me is impressive.”

Sighing, Taeyong says, “Just leave. I need to finish if you guys ever want to eat tonight. Just try to relax.”

“You tell me that a lot,” Yuta points out.

“That’s because you suck at it.”

Yuta reaches forward to grab a pepperoni slice and throws it at Taeyong. Stupid Taeyong is ready and catches it in his mouth with a smug grin. Yuta leaves.

To be honest, Taeyong giving him lectures is much better than being forced to sit in the same room as Sicheng where he has no excuse to ignore him. He’s about to veer off down the hallway and hide in the bathroom, when Johnny catches him coming and pats the free spot on the couch beside him.

There are several options he could do right now. One would be to disappear into the bathroom like he was planning. Two would be to make a run for it, claiming he wasn’t feeling well. Taeyong wouldn’t fall for it, but the others might. And the third option would be to sit down, clamp his mouth shut, and hope something stupid comes out.

Oh, who is he kidding? Something stupid is definitely going to come out.

Even still, he follows Johnny’s subtle order before Doyoung can actually order him to. Being mesmerized by Doyoung is never a fun experience. The television is talking softly in the background. It’s some weird soap opera Doyoung’s been attached to for almost a year. It looks like the girl’s just found out her brother is her father and, wow, Doyoung _really_ needs to sort out his priorities.

He’s on edge and he knows he looks it. His back is so straight it hurts, and he’s sitting on his hands as if that’ll help him from sputtering out the first thing that comes to his mind when Sicheng finally turns to him with a smile.

“You’re Yuta, right?” Sicheng asks, kindly. “We met at a party a while back, I think.”

“You remember that?” Yuta is proud of himself for actually forming a non-stupid response. It’s the small victories.

That being said, good god, what did Sicheng remember? Because it had not been classy in the slightest.

Sicheng rubs at the nape of his neck. “To be honest, I don’t remember much.”

“Well, maybe there is a god out there.”

Johnny slaps him in the arm and Sicheng is very confused and Yuta just wants to wallow in self-pity. So much self-pity.

“Rule number one with Yuta,” Doyoung says, eyes on the television, “he has zero filter and will say virtually anything on his mind.”

Yuta frowns. “Rude.”

“But true.”

Sicheng smiles, his shoulders lifting delicately in a shrug. It’s ridiculous how graceful he looks doing something so mundane. Yuta is starting to feel a bit inadequate. “It’s all right. It’s kind of refreshing.”

“Trust me, it starts to get annoying,’ says Doyoung. “Sorry, Yuta.”

“No, you aren’t.”

“No, I’m not.”

Sicheng shakes his head. “You’re really a warm fellow, Doyoung.”

“What can I say? I have so much love to share.”

Yuta knows he’s staring, but he can’t seem to stop. Sicheng is just so handsome and he’d challenge anyone not to look at him. The worst part is, he isn’t just a pretty face. From what he has gathered from Johnny, Sicheng’s kind, patient, and a little quiet, though Yuta doesn’t mind that at all. He’s so rudely perfect and Yuta knows Sicheng would never go for something like him. Yuta may be smooth on the soccer field, but he trips up horribly in conversations.

Sicheng looks back at him and Yuta blinks.

“You okay?” asks Sicheng.

Don’t say something dumb. Don’t say something dumb.

“Yeah, I’m just wondering if you had an extra heart because you just stole mine.”

Johnny groans. Doyoung snorts. He can hear Taeyong drop something in the kitchen and swear. And Sicheng simply stares at him.

“Remember when I said he had no filter? This is what I meant,” Doyoung says. He switches the television off, the show finally done, and turns to face Yuta. “Any more?”

Yuta shakes his head, heart hammering in his chest. He’s going to glue his lips shut. He will.

“You sure?”

“Don’t be a jerk, Doyoung,” Johnny says. “Go help in the kitchen.”

“Why do I have to?”

“Because Taeyong won’t let me in there and both Yuta and Sicheng are guests.”

Clicking his tongue, Doyoung gets up from the couch and goes to help Taeyong. He pauses in the archway. “What the hell are you cooking in here?”

“This is for my final project,” is Taeyong’s response.

Doyoung disappears from view with a sigh.

Yuta is shocked with Johnny gets up, too. “Where are you going?”

“To the bathroom, nosy,” says Johnny as he moves towards the hall. “Play nice.”

Yuta is going to kill him.

Honestly, Johnny should know better because there’s been exactly zero times Yuta’s been able to talk to the people he’s liked. There haven’t been a lot of people, but it’s enough. Enough to show that Yuta has no game at all. Hell, he’s twenty-years-old and still hasn’t even had a first kiss yet. The only action he’s ever had is with his hand.

Okay, maybe too much information.

That all being said, Yuta really doesn’t want to ruin this before it’s even started. Even if Sicheng isn’t interested in dating him, he would like to at least be comfortable with him. Friends, even. He just wants something that doesn’t require Sicheng running scared and Yuta wishing he could destroy his voice box.

Sicheng’s on his phone, only a few feet away on the adjacent couch. He hasn’t made a move to say anything else and Yuta wonders if he’s finally given up. But then he slips his phone into his pocket and looks at Yuta.

“How long have you been friends with them?” Sicheng inquires.

Come on, Yuta. You can do this.

“Only about two years. Johnny was the first one I met. I hang out here from time to time.”

And GOAL!

“That’s cool. I’ve known Doyoung for about that long, too. I don’t really come over often, but I wish I did more. Taeyong’s food is magical.”

Yuta coughs a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, it is.”

“You know,” Sicheng says, slowly, “Doyoung likes to poke fun at you, but I don’t think your lack of filter is that bad. At least, not from what he says.”

“Your eyes are so pretty they’re hypnotizing.” He blinks, not sure that actually came out of his mouth or not.

The laugher that comes from Sicheng is soft and quiet and, _wow_ , he wants to hear that again. Then Sicheng turns his brilliant smile on Yuta, his tongue feels heavy and useless at the sight. Sicheng Dong is an actual angel. Yuta is sure of it.

At Yuta’s stunned silence, Sicheng tilts his head and asks, “You all right?”

“Yeah,” he breathes. “Hey, do you know CPR?”

“Um, yeah, why?”

Don’t do it, Yuta. God fucking damn it, don’t do it.

“Because you’re taking my breath away.”

“Okay!” Taeyong yells, marching out of the kitchen with a pizza in one hand and a determined expression. “Time to eat. Come on, people.”

Sicheng is up to help them grab plates and Yuta sinks into the couch. There are times in his life that Taeyong is annoying—strictly because he keeps things to himself—but there are many, _many_ other times Yuta loves him. Thank god for Taeyong Lee.

*

“This is where people come to die.”

Johnny slaps Yuta on the back, a large camera case in one hand and a heavy-duty tripod under his arm. Yuta rocks forward. It doesn’t matter how long Johnny’s had his powers; he still doesn’t realize his strength sometimes. Ow, that hurt.

“It’ll be fine,” Johnny insists. “It’s been a while since someone’s died here.”

“That both relieves me and terrifies me,” he admits.

He should be helping Johnny unload the truck, but he can’t help but stare at the old abandoned mansion like it will reach out and smite him where he stands. From what Yuta knows, it used to be home to a rich family until they ditched it, only for it to become a kind of hospital during a pandemic many years ago. After they opened up the new hospital in town, it was left alone to rot. Or at least until someone could come back and fix it up. Clearly, no one had. It hunches over in the middle of nowhere, just off the high way. It’s large, looming figure causes plenty of rumors and attracts the attention of quite a few rebel teens, or explorers, in general.

Yuta isn’t sure how Johnny got permission to film here, but he isn’t going to ask because if it turns out they’re not supposed to be here he wants an excuse.

What windows that aren’t boarded up are broken. The porch sags a little too dangerously. Yuta thinks the outside used to be really nice brick work, but now it’s weathered and slightly decayed and Yuta really doesn’t want to go into it.

“So, we have another half hour until the others join us. Can you grab the sound equipment? Don’t forget the generator.” Johnny juts his chin towards the bed of the truck, hands full of camera stuff, and starts up the long path to the house.

He does as he’s told and when he gets into the building Johnny is already partly set up in a large room on the first floor that looks as if it used to be a sitting room of some kind. He’s got the tripod set up in the corner. There are no lights, so Johnny brought his own. They’re lined up neatly on the worn floor, waiting to be placed in the right spot.

If it’s even possible, the inside is freakier than the outside. There are, at least, four floors and too many winding hallways. Most of the rooms are empty with a few abandoned pieces of furniture here and there. Yuta hates how most of the doors have been left open to show nothing but darkness. Some of them are shut, and he thinks that might be worse because he’s not sure he wants to know what’s behind them.

If some demon comes out to murder him, he’s taking Johnny with him.

The two of them work efficiently with the set up. They are almost done when Yuta hears the sound of car tires against the gravel path and then the thuds of doors. Johnny pulls back a moth-eaten curtain and announces that ‘they’re’ here. Who every ‘they’ are.

“What exactly are you filming?” Yuta asks.

“Couple of dancers from the music program. They’re trying to get a tape together for a competition in a month.”

There’s something in his tone that makes Yuta wary. Slowly, he turns to Johnny, who’s moving to the front door. “Who are the dancers?”

Johnny doesn’t answer. Instead, he disappears from the room and Yuta sticks his head out to peer down the hall. When the door opens, Sicheng steps inside. Apparently, it doesn’t matter where he is—school library or a creepy old house—he looks gorgeous everywhere. Yuta’s stomach swoops when Sicheng smiles in greeting to Johnny and moves into the room where Yuta is. He’s got a dark turtleneck and slacks on. It’s so simple, but _oh so_ effective. Yuta is gaping. He knows he is. He just can’t seem to pull up his jaw.

“Hey, Yuta,” says Sicheng and Yuta chokes on air, sending him into a coughing fit. “Oh my god, are you okay?”

He waves a hand through the air. “You’re fine. I mean, fine! I’m fine! I mean, you’re fine, too. A very fine person, but I’m fine and not dying and please forgive my mouth right now. I can’t control it,” he blurts in a very long breath.

Sicheng bites his lip, eyes shining. “I’m glad you’re fine.”

Yuta can only handle a meek, “Yeah.”

“Sicheng, take your shit. I’m not your maid,” comes a voice from the hall. Yuta manages to look away from Sicheng for a moment to peek around him at another boy in a white turtle neck and the same slacks as Sicheng.

He’s very handsome and Yuta doesn’t doubt that he could capture the eye of anyone that passes him. He’s a little shorter than Sicheng with cropped black hair, dark eyes, and slightly upturned nose. Yuta thinks the only thing that spoils his appearance is the scowl on his face as he holds out a duffle bag towards Sicheng.

Sicheng is quick to grab it and move to the other side of the room. The boy, still in the doorway, turns his sharp eyes on Yuta.

“Hey, you’re Yuta, right?” the boy inquires.

“You’re stupidly pretty,” Yuta blurts.

Johnny comes over to put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, failing at keeping his laughter at bay. “Yep, that’s Yuta for you.”

The boy nods, eyes still slightly narrowed at Yuta. “Right. I’m Ten.”

“Ten?” Yuta hopes that’s a nickname because, otherwise, he feels really bad for the boy.

“Yeah,” he replies, placing his things next to Sicheng, who’s changing out of his street shoes into jazz shoes and Yuta has just realized he’s going to be watching Sicheng dance. Can he handle that? Is he ready for that? Ten shoves his hands into his pockets. “You wouldn’t be able to pronounce my name.”

“What is it?” he asks, curiously.

“Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul.”

Yuta blinks. “Ten it is.”

“Thought so.”

Sicheng looks to Ten with a faint smile. “Don’t be so prickly.”

“I’m not prickly. I’m stating the obvious.”

The walls creak loudly and Yuta looks around, ready for it to crash down around them. “I hate this place,” he mutters, mainly to himself more than anyone else. “We’re going to die here. Either the house or the ghosts will get us first.”

“Most of the ghosts here are benign,” Ten says, passively.

Yuta’s eyes widen. “There are actual ghosts here?”

Ten shrugs. “Yeah, a few. Old man behind you.”

Spinning around in horror, Yuta finds nothing there but the wall. He glances back at Ten, who’s got a slight smirk forming on his face. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be funny. You just can’t see him.”

“And you can?”

Ten, hip cocked to the side, points at himself. “Necromancer.”

“Oh, right. Duh. Of course, you’re a necromancer. That’s so obvious,” Yuta rambles.

“Ten’s ability is necromancy,” Sicheng supplies. “Not really raising the dead, but communicating and seeing them anyway.”

Yuta hugs himself, suddenly cold. “That’s disturbing.”

Johnny, now behind his camera and fiddling with the settings, says, “So, I’m thinking we do the majority in here and then you guys can scope out the rest of the place if you want to film anywhere else.”

“Sounds good to me,” agrees Sicheng.

Yuta scoots over to stand beside Johnny and pinches him in the side. Johnny doesn’t make a noise, but he certainly flinches and that’s enough for Yuta. “I can believe you didn’t tell me he was going to be here.”

“If I told you, would you have come?” Johnny counters.

“No,” Yuta says. “I’d be halfway back to Japan by now. Which is where I’d like to be at this moment in time.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

He waves his hands around. “I’m always dramatic! Johnny, you’ve had plenty of terrible ideas and this one is the worst. What if I trip and fall flat on my face in front of him? What if I accidently tell him that I dream about him and that, while I hate lying, I wouldn’t mind the horizontal kind with him.”

“I don’t know how you still manage to shock me when you talk, but it’s impressive,” says Johnny, eyes on the camera screen. Yuta punches him in the arm. “Ow! I didn’t deserve that.”

“You totally did!”

“Oh, shit.” The voice draws both Yuta’s and Johnny’s attention. Ten is sifting through his bag with a furrowed brow. “Damn it. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“What did you forget?” Johnny asks.

Ten rocks back on his heels, glaring at his bag. “My shoes. I’d say I could do it barefoot, but not in this place. I’ll have to go back and get them.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sicheng tells him. “We can wait until you come back.”

“Yeah.” Ten reaches down to pick up his keys. “Sorry. I’ll be back in an hour, I guess.”

“Hey,” Johnny moves out from behind the camera. “I’ll come with you. I think I left an SD card at my place, if you don’t mind swinging by there.”

Ten nods. “Least I can do for putting your filming off an hour.”

Before Johnny can follow Ten out, Yuta grabs his arm. Sicheng is busy going through his duffle bag to watch Yuta plead, “Don’t leave me with him. I swear to god, don’t leave me.”

Gently, Johnny pries Yuta’s hands off him. “You’ll be fine. Just remember to breathe and think before you speak.”

“Everyone keeps telling me that, but I don’t think they realize how hard that actually is,” he hisses.

Johnny grabs Yuta’s shoulders and stares him right in the eyes. It’s kind of off-putting. “You will be fine. If you keep running from him, you won’t ever be able to talk to him. Sicheng’s a chill guy. He’s not going to be frightened if you run your mouth off a bit, all right? Now, I need to go.”

Yuta wants to reach out and lock himself around Johnny’s legs like a toddler, but he also knows that Sicheng isn’t that far away and he doesn’t want to freak him out so early into knowing each other. Once Johnny and Ten are gone, Yuta stands by the door and lets the awkward silence settle around him.

He knows he should say something to Sicheng. They have about an hour until Johnny and Ten come back, and he’s not sure he can handle the quiet for that long. Still, he’s also completely sure that he won’t be able to say anything that doesn’t make him look like a total idiot, so maybe he should just suck it up and not say anything.

His phone dingles from his pocket and Yuta opens it to find a message.

**Taeyong:**

_Oh my god just talk to him._

_Please._

Thanks, Taeyong. Yuta rubs his forehead with a sigh. Yeah, very helpful.

He turns, opens his mouth, sees Sicheng changing his shoes back to his runners, and—he quickly spins back around, slamming his mouth shut. No, nope, he can’t do this. He can’t and he’s going to murder Johnny in this mansion as soon as he gets back so he can make friends with all the other ghosts.

“You okay there?” Sicheng asks from the other side of the room. He’s got his phone in his hand now, clearly in the middle of sending a message. Still, his eyes are trained on Yuta with a furrowed brow, like he’s concerned.

Yuta doesn’t want him to be concerned. “Yeah, just thinking about all the lovely ways the ghosts can kill me.”

The smile he gets is small, yet charming and Yuta wants to swoon. “I think we’ll be fine. Ten would have warned us.”

“Would he have? He’s pretty, but he seems terrifying.”

“You think?” Sicheng rolls his eyes up to the ceiling in thought. “I suppose he seems like that at first. He’s actually a teddy bear.”

Yuta doubted that. He really did.

Pocketing his phone, Sicheng started toward Yuta and Yuta panicked because, _oh my god_ , why is he coming closer? He stares openly at him with wide eyes, still hugging himself like the idiot he is. He needs to let go. His arms should be at his sides, but now he’s not sure he can move them because Sicheng has him frozen on the spot.

“Let’s go,” Sicheng says.

Yuta eyes him. “Go where?”

“Well, Johnny wants to get some shots around this place and we’ve got some time, so why don’t we do a bit of exploring?”

“Do you have a death wish? This place is about to keel over and crush us where we stand.”

Sicheng coughs a laugh. “I think we’ll be fine. Come on, it’ll be fun.” He puts his hand on Yuta’s shoulder and Yuta stares at it, mouth slightly ajar. “What is it?”

“You’re touching me,” Yuta breathes. “I can die happy now.” The words are out before he can stop them and his face feels like a volcano. He meets Sicheng’s eyes, words falling from his lips in a mess, “That’s not what I meant! I mean, I meant what I meant! Or I meant what I mean—what I said—but I didn’t because that would be weird and I don’t mean to sound weird and, oh my god, kill me now.”

Sicheng bites his lip, the corners of his mouth twitching. He pats Yuta on the shoulder and starts out the door. “Come on, Yuta. Let’s go on an adventure.”

Yuta watches him go, feeling incredibly mortified. “This was not how I expected my death to go,” he whispers. On any normal day, Death by Sicheng seems like great idea. Death by Sicheng’s Dangerous Adventures is a lot less fun. Still, he follows after Sicheng because he’s both in love and terrified to be alone.

Yuta hangs a few feet back from Sicheng as they travel along the long, creaky hallway. He tries desperately not to stare at Sicheng’s ass, but it proves difficult and Yuta ends up slapping himself to snap himself out of it. The sound is loud and Sicheng turns, shocked.

“Are you okay?” Sicheng asks.

No. No, he’s not okay because he’s completely obsessed and totally in love and Sicheng is never going to feel the same and Yuta is going to be alone for the rest of his life with dozens of cats. And he doesn’t even like cats, so this sounds like a horrible life.

“Just making sure this isn’t a nightmare,” he says, slapping himself a little lighter than before. “Nope, totally real. Horrifyingly real.”

Sicheng shakes his head, eyes sparkling in the dark. “You really don’t like abandoned buildings, do you?”

“Can you blame me? This is the perfect place to murder someone and leave their body. Or for a ghost-demon-thing to come out and drag you into the depths of Hell,” he rambles. Inhaling deeply, he tries to calm his heart because, no, there are no shadows moving behind Sicheng. He’s seeing things. “Don’t tell me you actually like this place?”

Shrugging, Sicheng says, “I don’t mind so much. It’s kind of neat, actually. Think of the history this place has.”

“Hundreds of people died within these walls. That’s all the history I need to know.”

“Don’t worry,” Sicheng says as he moves onward down the corridor, “I’ll protect you from the evil spirits.”

“I’m sure you’d look amazing in armor,” he blurts.

“Maybe I’ll be a knight for Halloween then. Come on, we’ve got more to see. I think there’s a ballroom on the second floor.”

Sure enough, there is one. The once polished floors are covered in dirt and dust. Several slender windows are boarded up, blocking the sun from coming in, but Sicheng’s taken out his phone to turn on the flashlight. He lets it slip over the dark walls, the crooked chandelier, and the many nails in the walls that used to carry art. Yuta thinks it probably used to be a grand room, very pretty. It’s lost all the sparkle it should have had.

Something bangs within the mansion and Yuta jumps, nearly falling into Sicheng. Fortunately, Sicheng is nice enough to catch him, phone dropping to the floor with a thud. His fingers are cold, but Yuta doesn’t mind. He’s sure he could warm them up if Sicheng let him.

Bad, Yuta. Stop that.

“It’s just the house settling,” Sicheng tells him.

They’re so close. Yuta’s mind is doing that weird glitching thing it does where all the words and thoughts decide they want to enter a wrestling tournament, slamming against each other and nothing ever arising coherent. Sicheng’s hands are rested on Yuta’s arms, keeping him upright, and Yuta is worried that if he lets go Yuta’s legs are going to collapse completely.

“Or it’s the old man trying to freak me out because he has a sick personality,” Yuta replies.

He almost pouts when Sicheng lets him go to bend over and pick up his phone. He dusts it off and shines the light down the hallway. He looks back at Yuta, “Want to keep going?”

No, he really doesn’t, but he’s also not going to leave Sicheng for anything, so he trails after him. He’s trying desperately not to blurt out that Sicheng looks like an angel, or maybe the devil. Yuta’s not picky. Sicheng walks with grace, and he has to know what it does to people when they see him. He has to know that he stuns onlookers. Right?

“Yuta?”

Crap. Yuta barely noticed that Sicheng had been talking to him. He’s been spending his time just staring at Sicheng’s back while they wander through the dark corridor and going back down to the first floor, towards the back of the mansion.

“Yeah?” His voice sounds so meek and high. It’s kind of embarrassing.

Sicheng smiles. “I was just asking what your program was?”

Oh, okay, that’s a safe topic. He can’t mess up that. “Sports Sciences.”

“That’s really cool. My cousin did something like that. You’re really into sports, right? You’re on the,” he pauses, furrowing his brow, “soccer team? That’s right, right?”

Yuta nods. “Yeah, soccer.”

“I’ve always admired sports players,” Sicheng says as they move through what looks like some kind of kitchen into another room. He pauses in the middle of it, glancing around. Yuta is pretty sure it used to be some kind of dining room. “Takes a lot of talent and coordination, especially if you’re varsity or pro. That’s what you want to do, right? Go pro?”

“I-I guess.” He clears his throat. “Yeah, that would be awesome. Do you want to keep dancing?”

Sicheng shrugs. “To be honest, I’d love to dance professionally, but I’m also okay with teaching it. I’d like to open up my own studio someday. Ten’s agreed to help me if I do. Doyoung said you dance.”

Damn it, Doyoung. That was one fact he wasn’t supposed to share with people, especially not to Sicheng. Yuta didn’t dance technically. He danced for fun and, while he was good at it, he knew he wasn’t a match for Sicheng’s skill at all.

“Sometimes,” he mutters, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking down.

“We should dance sometime,” Sicheng says. Yuta’s eyes snap up to find him smiling slightly. It’s warm and Yuta wants to melt. “Doyoung tells me you’re really good. Hip hop?”

“Definitely not contemporary,” he tells Sicheng with a shaky laugh. Yuta’s not built for flow. He’s built for power. There’s no way he’s even going to pretend he could do what Sicheng and Ten could do.

“Fair enough. Contemporary isn’t for everyone. Completely different discipline. Still, I’ve always wanted to learn hip hop, so maybe you can show me?”

Yuta blinks, eyes wide. He regrets opening his mouth because the words “I can show you a lot of things” comes tumbling out, leaving his face ridiculously hot.

He’s lucky Sicheng doesn’t get the meaning and just lets out a soft laugh. “That would be great.”

A bang rattles the walls—Yuta thinks it was a door down the hall—and it startles him so much that a yelp falls from his lips. He jolts forward into Sicheng’s side, eyes locked on the doorway, waiting for something to jump out and scare him.

“You’re really jumpy,” Sicheng notes. Clearly, he’s a bit amused.

“Maybe I just want to be in your arms desperately,” Yuta says before he can stop himself. His mouth is a betrayer. A dirty betrayer. He shuffles away from Sicheng. “That was a joke! I was just kidding! Hahaha…ha.”

Kill him. Stuff him. Mount him.

Sicheng weighs his head to the side. “You’re an interesting guy.”

Not exactly the compliment he wanted, but he’ll take it because, goodness, he just got called ‘interesting’ and that’s so much better than ‘weird’ or ‘freakish’.

He ducks his head, cheeks warm. The thing is, Yuta really isn’t that shy of a person. When he’s with Taeyong, Johnny, and Doyoung he’s so much louder, so much bolder. He doesn’t mind hanging off them like a child or poking fun at them. Sicheng is a force that Yuta isn’t sure he can handle and so he just ends up hiding inside himself like he doesn’t even own a spine.

He wants to get to know Sicheng in a way that his friends have. It’s not the same just being told about Sicheng. Still, he can’t seem to snap out of it whenever Sicheng is around and that’s just so freaking difficult to deal with.

When the floor creaks, his head snaps to where Sicheng is wandering toward the window. The floor bends under his weight. He peers through the dirty glass. Then he’s turning and heading back towards Yuta.

“Let’s go check out the upper floors a bit more, yeah?”

Yuta is about to respond when he hears the floor groan and it sinks oddly under his feet. He isn’t sure how he knows. There’s no way for him to have known, but he’s moving with a burst of speed as the floor boards snap like a crack of thunder. Sicheng lets out a startled yell and Yuta has his arms around him and they fall through a cloud of wood and dust.

The stop is sudden and painful. Wood is digging into his back, the wind completely knocked out of his lungs. He coughs and groans. His arms are secure around Sicheng, who’s landed directly on top of him. As the dust cloud settles, Yuta squints to look around.

Sicheng elicits a grunt and pushes himself up, hands placed on either side of Yuta’s head. He gazes at Yuta as if he’s not quite sure how they got into the position. Before Yuta can say anything, however, Sicheng is snapping out of it, rolling off Yuta.

“Fuck, that was a fall,” Sicheng says as he peers upward. The floor had completely broken beneath their feet, dropping them into a basement room it seemed. He places a hand on Yuta’s arm and helps sit him up. “Are you okay?”

He seems to ask Yuta that a lot. Valid question a lot of the time, though, he thinks.

“Not how I imagined you falling for me, but it’s progress, I guess,” Yuta mutters. Sicheng blinks and Yuta thinks he wasn’t heard. “I’m fine. Sore, but fine. You?”

“Yeah, I’m good. No thanks to you. Sorry for landing on you.”

“You can land on me any time.” Bad, Yuta. Very bad, Yuta. He clears his throat, coughing a little from the dust. “Where are we? Basement?”

Slowly, Sicheng gets up and dusts himself off the best he can. He runs a hand along one of the brick walls that surround them. “Looks like it was closed off to the rest of the house. You wouldn’t happen to have an ability that could get us back up to the main floor, would you?”

Yuta shakes his head. “I can make us a rope, but there’s nowhere to hook it to up there. And I can’t make a ladder. Too big.”

“You can make things?” Sicheng seems interested, if the way he turns completely to Yuta with his full attention is anything to go by.

“Materialization. But only small things. The larger they are, the worse I feel. But if you need a pen and paper to give me your number, I can do that.” He holds out his hands. The tingling sensation flitters through his fingers and a pen and small notepad appear.

Sicheng laughs. “I could just type it into your phone, Yuta.”

He drops the items. “Right. Um, your ability? Could it help at all?”

“Not at all. I deal in illusions. But I can make it seem like we escaped,” he says with a slight smile and Yuta finds himself grinning back.

“It’s fine,” he says as he digs into his pocket for his phone. “I can just call Johnny and let him—”

The screen is broken and when he hits the power button nothing happens. Sighing, he glances at Sicheng, hoping he can help with his own phone. Except, Sicheng’s brows are furrowed as he stares at his screen.

“Dead zone. We’re just going to have to wait until Johnny and Ten get back,” says Sicheng.

Yuta tosses his head back to look through the hole. “Hey, Taeyong! Now would be a good time to interfere and tell Johnny we fell in a hole!”

Sicheng frowns. “What are you doing?”

“Taeyong can hear me from a distance,” Yuta explains as he gingerly gets up. His back is killing him. “I’m hoping he can let the others know to speed it up a bit.”

“Right. He can read minds.”

“Brilliant power, really. I’m jealous. I would love to read people’s minds. It would save me the hassle of trying to figure out what they were thinking of me and maybe stop me from blurting out the first thing on my mind.”

Sicheng leans against the wall. “I think it would be troublesome. I don’t think I would want to know what everyone was thinking, especially if it was bad. Besides,” he casts Yuta a smile, “I don’t think you’re that bad.”

“Seriously?” Yuta asks, incredulously. “I’m the worst. And I’m worse around you because I don’t know how to talk to you and you make me nervous, so then I just word vomit and I can’t stop, even though I want to. And I just want to say something useful, or not stupid, but then it just comes out and I can’t take it back and I swear, please, shut me up right now.” Covering his mouth, Sicheng hides a grin, eyes twinkling in the dark. Yuta pouts. “You’re laughing at me.”

Sicheng lowers his hand, still smiling, and says, “Really, Yuta. I think it’s kind of adorable.”

Oh.

Oh, okay.

That’s different.

Yuta, for once, is stunned speechless. He takes in Sicheng’s calm form, his small smile, his watchful eyes. Cheeks warm, Yuta turns around to head to the other side of the small room and look at the wall as if it has a secret way out. It doesn’t. But at least he doesn’t have to look at Sicheng while appearing like a tomato.

“Hey, Yuta?”

Hesitantly, he looks over his shoulder. Sicheng is straightening, hands fiddling with his shirt, like he’s trying to fix it smooth, and when he gazes through his lashes at Yuta it’s game over. Yuta’s not sure his heart is beating anymore. He’s completely dead because, _holy_ , Sicheng is cute and beautiful and he can’t take that. He really can’t.

Letting out a small cough, Sicheng rolls his shoulders back and asks, “I make you nervous?”

The laugh that escapes Yuta is humorless. It’s a bubble, really. Bursting through him like his words do, uncontrolled and sudden. He clamps a hand over his mouth to stop more laughter from coming. Then, he peels his hand away, the corner of his lips quirking and his brow furrowing.

“You’re kidding, right?” he asks. “Sicheng, you send my heart into overdrive and shut down my brain.”

Sicheng’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“I’ve been giving you bad pick up lines since we met,” Yuta points out. “Not really because I want to, but because I can’t control my mouth around you. You really never noticed?”

Sicheng purses his lips. “Well, no. No, I noticed the pick up lines. I’m not that dense. I just didn’t think…I thought you were just playing around.”

Yuta twists so he can lean against the wall because he’s not sure his legs want to stay vertical right now and his back hurts too much to stand. “I don’t give pick up lines to just anyone. Just the people I like.”

Well, then. That wasn’t supposed to come out. Oh, well, can’t get much worse, right? He’ll take a carbon steel casket if anyone is asking.

To his dismay, Sicheng doesn’t say anything. He simply nods and goes back to holding up his phone, looking for a service bar.

That’s okay. He’s used to rejection. He’s used to people not really seeing him in a romantic way, especially the people he likes himself. Still, this one hurts a little more than usual.

He watches Sicheng take steps around the place. His hair is a mess, dust is clinging to his clothes, and there’s a small cut on his cheek from the fall. Maybe, Yuta thinks, his love for Sicheng goes a little deeper than he thought it did. It seems silly because he doesn’t really know Sicheng personally, but he knows who he is through his friends and from what he’s seen. And everything he’s experienced on his own has only proven how wonderful he is.

Yuta realizes he’s in trouble. A lot of trouble.

“It’s really too bad,” Sicheng says, suddenly. “If I had even one bar, I’d call my mom.”

“Your mom?” Yuta questions.

Sicheng nods, firmly. “Of course. I told her I would call her the first time I fell for someone.”

Once again, Yuta is stunned. Sicheng studies him, a small smile spreading across his lips. Yuta snorts and the laugher tumbles out of him. Sicheng is quick to join him, pressing his hand to his mouth to hide his smile.

“That—that was so bad,” Yuta chuckles, trying to calm himself. “Oh my god, that was awful.”

“I thought it was pretty good!” Sicheng argues. He steps up to Yuta and punches his shoulder, sending Yuta into more laughter. “I never laughed at your stupid lines.”

“Oh my god,” he gasps. “I need an inhaler.”

Sicheng suddenly looks worried. “Why? Are you okay?”

“No, because you took my breath away.”

Sicheng groans and pushes him. “Shut up. How do you even come up with these?”

“Google is my best friend,” Yuta says.

“That makes me feel very sad for you.” Sicheng rolls his eyes.

Yuta sighs, still smiling, and lowers himself to the floor, so his back is against the wall. Sicheng follows his decision and rests against the adjacent wall. They’re quiet for a while, but Yuta isn’t worried about it. There are so many thoughts in his head that it gives him time to sort them out.

He side-eyes Sicheng. His own eyes are closed, head tipped back. It almost looks like he’s asleep.

“Hey, Sicheng,” he whispers.

Sicheng hums, not opening his eyes.

Yuta hugs his knees to his chest. “I really like you.”

Eyes snapping open, Sicheng glances at him. “I know.”

That makes his cheeks warm, but he pushes forward because he needs to. He needs to do this. He needs to know. “Could I persuade you to go on a date with me?”

“I don’t know,” Sicheng says, tearing his eyes away to look at his hands. “I would still need to talk to my mom.”

Yuta is quick to kick him and Sicheng laughs. “I’m serious!”

“I know, I know,” Sicheng says. He takes a deep breath and shifts so he can fully place his attention onto Yuta. “I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you, but I don’t really…Dating isn’t really something I do.”

“What do you mean? You’re into hook ups?”

Sicheng’s eyes pop open. “No! No, that’s not what I meant!” He pinches the bridge of his nose, ears red. Those adorable ears. “No, I just meant that I don’t have much experience. I don’t really gain people’s attention, Yuta. I’m kind of…I guess you could say I’m inexperienced with the whole thing.”

“You don’t gain attention? That’s a lie,” Yuta says. “You’re gorgeous and a fantastic person. What’s not to like?”

Sicheng’s smile is so soft that Yuta wants to hug him. Or kiss him. Anything really at this point.

“I don’t know,” Sicheng says with a shrug. “I’ve only ever been asked out once and I wasn’t interested.”

“And you’re interested now?” he asks, hopefully.

Sicheng nods, fingers fiddling. “Yeah, guess I am. You’re really nice, Yuta. And funny. Sure, you blurt out the most random stuff, but it’s kind of endearing? Plus, you’re not bad to look at.”

And there goes Yuta’s heart again. He really needs to get that checked out.

“If it helps,” he says, “I’m not all that experienced either. My lack of filter scares everyone away.”

Sicheng leans his head against his knees. His fringe brushes against his eyelashes as he gazes at Yuta. “Not me. I like it.”

“I haven’t even had my first kiss,” he announces. His cheeks were never going to cool down at this rate, so he might as well go with it.

“My first kiss was with a girl in the tenth grade,” Sicheng tells him. “Her braces cut my lip. Not exactly a thrilling time.”

Yuta cringed. “Yeah, I can imagine.” Okay, well, no, he can’t because he’s never even been that close to someone, but he likes to think he can relate. He managed to get a split lip once. Does that count?

“Well...” Sicheng shifts so that he’s beside Yuta. Every muscle in his body tenses when slender fingers rest on his chin, turning his head to face Sicheng. Yuta likes the way Sicheng’s eyes twinkle. They’re bright with amusement and something else Yuta can’t quite figure out, but that’s okay because they’re pretty and Yuta is a sucker for pretty things.

Sicheng’s fingers are gentle as they tug Yuta’s face closer, a breath away. Yuta’s heart is stuttering in his chest. Pausing, he tilts his head, waiting for Yuta to pull away. Except he doesn’t want to. This is what he’s been waiting for. He might be the type of guy to want to get to know someone before he dates them, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want to kiss Sicheng right now.

So, he leans forward and presses his lips to Sicheng’s. He’s not really sure what to do. He’s seen the movies, he knows there’s a motion to it, a depth to kissing, but he’s not experienced and he certainly wasn’t one of those odd people to practice on their teddy bears—and he really needs to focus because right now his lips are on Sicheng’s and it’s a very important moment in history.

He goes to move closer, to pull Sicheng into him, but before he can place his arms around Sicheng’s neck, Sicheng is leaning away with heavy eyes and a soft smile. He takes Yuta’s stunned self as advantage to scoot back to where he was sitting before.

“That’s it?” Yuta asks, lips tingling and hands still out to grasp Sicheng.

Sicheng chuckles, low and breathy. Yuta likes to think that maybe Sicheng’s heart is beating just as fast as his, that maybe he’s just as shaken up by that small, chaste kiss, too. “That’s just a preview,” he says. “If the date goes well, I’ll give you another one. Deal?”

Yuta grins. “Deal.”

They both flinch when a bang echoes through the mansion. It sounds like the front door. Quickly, they scramble to their feet.

“Hello?” Yuta calls out when his ears catch the sound of footsteps. He’s hoping it’s not a ghost and someone corporeal enough to save them. “Anyone there?”

The footsteps quicken and suddenly Johnny’s voice is ringing off the walls. “Yuta? Sicheng?” He appears at the edge of the hole carefully, lowering himself into a squat. “What the hell? You two all right?”

“We are now,” Yuta tells him. “Took you long enough. Help us out of here.”

“Got something to help with that? Couldn’t really stop for a ladder.”

A rope appears in Yuta’s tingling fingers and he tosses it up. Johnny catches it. It takes a little time, but soon enough Yuta and Sicheng are being pulled up by Johnny and crawling out of the hole. Standing in the kitchen, Yuta is quite pleased to be free finally.

“Did you get your shoes?” Sicheng asks while Ten helps him brush the dust off his clothes and out of his hair.

“Yes. I can’t believe you fell in a hole,” is Ten’s response. He’s frowning, shaking out Sicheng’s fringe. Yuta kind of wants to go over and bump Ten out of the way so he can do that job himself, but he’s not Sicheng’s boyfriend. Yet. “You’re an idiot. You both are. Honestly.”

“I’m fine, Ten,” Sicheng says. “Yuta’s the one that took the brunt of the fall.”

Johnny elbows Yuta in the side. “Nice going, hero.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to,” Yuta replies. He catches Sicheng’s eye. “I mean, I hadn’t been expecting to catch you. I’m glad I did, though.”

Sicheng rests a hand on Yuta’s arm. “How’s your back?”

“Better now that you’re here.”

Johnny snorts, dropping a heavy arm around Yuta’s shoulders. He dips down to whisper in Yuta’s ear. “So, I guess my idea of leaving you guys alone was worthwhile?”

Yuta pinches Johnny’s side and Johnny yelps, jumping away. “I still hate you for leaving me in this cursed mansion.”

“Hey,” Sicheng squeezes his arm, “for what it’s worth, I’m glad it happened.”

Yuta smiles at him and he gets a bright grin in return that makes his heart soar. He raises his hand, ready to grab the front of Sicheng’s turtleneck and kiss him, but Ten shoves his way through them with a furrowed brow.

“Can we film? We’re already running late,” Ten says as he marches down the hall.

Johnny calls after him: “And who’s fault is that?” The smile he sends Yuta is crooked and he follows after Ten.

“So,” Sicheng says, bringing Yuta’s attention back to him. Ears red, he shuffles a bit on the spot before smiling sheepishly. “Um, want to get dinner after this?”

“Fuck, yeah, I do!” Yuta exclaims. His eyes widen, shocked at his outburst, but Sicheng just laughs. “That was aggressive. I’m so sorry. Yes, I would really, _really_ love to go to dinner with you tonight.”

“Good,” Sicheng says. He holds out his hand and Yuta takes it, their fingers interlocking. “Now, let’s go before Ten comes back to murder us.”

Yuta nods. “Sounds like a good idea.”

They end up finishing filming late, but they still go to dinner—Johnny and Ten are insistent on crashing the date, though both Yuta and Sicheng take it in stride. Sicheng holds his hand under the table and they share secret smiles while Ten and Johnny start arguing over editing techniques.

It’s not the most romantic first date and Yuta would like to think the next one is actually their official one. Even still, Sicheng kisses Yuta when they make it to the car, ignoring Ten’s grumbling and Johnny’s comments about PDA. Yuta couldn’t care less about it. He’s got Sicheng in his arms and his lips on his and it’s everything he could have dreamed or hoped for.

Sure, he’s still terrible at controlling his mouth, but at least Sicheng doesn’t seem to mind and, really, that’s all that matters in the end.

He supposes, he probably should thank Johnny at some point. Probably. Maybe. Nah, never mind.

*Feel Free to come talk to me on [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/DiamantNoir)*

**Author's Note:**

> Superpowers:  
> Johnny - Enhanced strength  
> Taeyong - Telepathy - Ability to read minds  
> Yuta – Materialization – Ability to create objects from nothing  
> Doyoung - Mesmerism - Ability to mesmerize people into doing what he says  
> Ten – Necromancy – Ability to see and communicate with the dead  
> Sicheng – Illusions – Ability to alter or deceive the perception of reality
> 
> Series (Publication Order):  
> I Want You More Than I Want Superpowers  
> Live Young, Die Free  
> The Way You Want Me
> 
> Series (Chronological Order):  
> Live Young, Die Free  
> The Way You Want Me  
> I Want You More Than I Want Superpowers


End file.
